History’s strangest taxes
The strangest things people have paid tax on
Governments have tried to fill their coffers with unusual taxes throughout history, from England’s 17th-century window tax to Russia’s beard tax. There are even levies on queen bees and, believe it or not, cow flatulence. Take a trip through some of the most 'creative' taxes of all time.
Cooking oil (3,000-300 BC)
The pharaohs weren't shy about taking money from their citizens, and Ancient Egypt’s tax on cooking oil is among the first recorded. Tax collectors would even go door to door checking that citizens were not recycling old oil or using cheap alternatives to avoid the tax. As the ancient Egyptians didn't have a coined money, this tax was taken from harvests and property.
Urine (1st century AD)
In Ancient Rome, human urine was highly valued – the ammonia it contained was used for tanning and laundering and, shockingly, brushing teeth. Nero levied a tax on those collecting it from public urinals and Emperor Vespasian reintroduced it around 70 AD. The tax led to the Latin saying ‘Pecunia non olet’: ‘money does not stink’.
All the single people (9 AD)
Single folk have been punitively taxed for millennia. Roman emperor Augustus first introduced penalties on those who were celibate or had no children in 9 AD. Why? To encourage procreation, and put a stop to any immoral behaviour. The Ottoman Empire followed suit in the 15th century, and England also taxed childless widowers and bachelors in 1695. A childlessness tax of 6% was enforced in the USSR from 1941-1992 and, even today, the US state of Missouri taxes single men aged 21 to 50 $1 a year.
Skipping battle (12th-14th centuries)
A ‘cowards’ tax’ was levied by the medieval King Henry I of England, which allowed knights to opt out of fighting wars by paying a so-called 'scutage tax'. Later, King John levied it so often that it is said to have led to the creation of the Magna Carta of 1215, to limit the monarch’s power. Scutage also existed in France and Germany but became obsolete by the 14th century.
Salt (1350)
Another tax that led to huge change was the ‘gabelle’ salt tax in France, so unpopular from its establishment in the mid-14th century that it was a contributing factor in the French Revolution. Although it was repealed in 1790, Napoleon reinstated it just 16 years later, and it was only abolished in 1945 after the Second World War. The British also taxed salt, leading to Gandhi’s Salt March in 1930 to protest British rule in India.
Beards (1535-1772)
The Tudors of England first came up with the creative beard tax, with bearded King Henry VIII introducing a levy on facial hair in 1535, and his daughter Elizabeth I also levying a duty on whiskers. But it was Peter the Great of Russia who took it a step further. In his bid to modernise the country, from 1698 anyone who wanted to stay hairy had to buy a coin imprinted with the words ‘the beard is a superfluous burden’. The tax ended in 1772.
Playing cards (17th century)
King James of England and Scotland is said to have passed a law requiring the Ace of Spades in every pack of cards to carry its printing house’s insignia, to prove tax had been paid on its manufacture. Forging an ace of spades was punishable by hanging – and the card is still known as the ‘death card’. Stamp duty on playing cards was only abolished in 1960.
Fireplaces (1662)
The British were definitely creative with their taxes in their day. The hearth tax was introduced by King Charles II’s parliament in 1662, following the Restoration of the monarchy. As the government sought to raise money, it was considered easier to count hearths than heads. But with people simply covering their fireplaces with bricks to conceal them, the tax was repealed three decades later.
Lawyers (1667)
A French tax dating back to 1667 applies a charge of €13 ($15/£11) to the bill of anyone who uses a lawyer to go to court before a judge. The money goes to pay lawyers’ pensions.
Windows (1696)
Another inventive, although ultimately useless, British tax, the results of the window tax can still be seen across the country today, with householders who could not afford to pay for all their windows simply bricking many up. Houses with more than 10 windows had to pay a huge 10 shillings. The tax negatively impacted the health of the nation, and after years of campaigning the tax was repealed in 1851. For some, that was 150 years too late.
Candles (1709)
The Georgian period in the UK was a time of prolific taxes. From 1709 to 1831, candles were taxed and no-one was allowed to make candles at home without a licence. People started to use rush lighting, dipping rushes in animals fat before sparking them up at either end – hence the saying ‘burning the candle at both ends’.
Soap (1711)
British politicians kicked up a real stink when they decided to tax soap, which was consequently regarded as a luxury item for decades. The tax was scrapped in 1835 by Prime Minister William Gladstone and people could finally afford to get clean.
Wallpaper (1712)
Another inventive Georgian tax, this levy on stained and coloured papers (one pence per square yard, rising to one shilling by the 1800s) was avoided by pasting blank wallpaper on walls then stencilling by hand. The trend for wallpaper soared after the tax was abolished in 1836.
Gin (1736)
The British Gin Act was passed to curb the effects of the liquor known as ‘mothers’ ruin’, with a punitive tax of 20 shilling per as well as a £50 annual license (equivalent to $10,500 or £8,000 today) for all gin sellers. It led to riots and the illegal manufacture of moonshine. The act was repealed in 1743.
Bricks (1784)
As well as paying out for their windows, Georgian Britons had to pay for the bricks to build their homes to help fund the wars in the American colonies. Manufacturers quickly worked out that using bigger bricks reduced the tax, but the government introduced a maximum brick size and doubled taxes on larger bricks. At its peak it cost 5 shillings 10 pence per 1,000 bricks. The tax was abolished in 1850.
Hats (1784)
Desperate to pay off the war-ravaged national debt, Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger also introduced a tax on men’s hats to the UK in 1784, with each hat required to carry a revenue stamp, pasted inside its lining, and a rising scale of taxes based on the cost of the hat. The government took the tax seriously, with the death penalty for anyone caught forging the hat stamps. The hat duty was abolished in 1811.
Wig powder (1795)
Pitt (appropriately, leader of the Whig Party) went on to tax wig powder, used to add colour – most commonly white or blueish-grey – and aroma, but the trend among the rich was already on the wane. The stamp duty of one guinea was paid by some 47,000 in 1812, but in 1855 fewer than 1,000 old-fashioned wig-wearers paid the tax. It was scrapped in 1869.
Clocks (1797)
Another year, another tax from Mr Pitt, this time for clocks and pocket watches: five shillings on every clock, ten shillings for gold pocket watches and two shillings and sixpence for all others, with annual licences required for makers and dealers. It almost ruined the manufacture of clocks and watches… unsurprisingly the tax lasted just nine months.
Church-going (1803)
The German church levy was introduced in 1803 after religious property was nationalised – and still exists today. With the 8-9% of income tax extended to capital gains as well, Germans have been formally leaving the Protestant and Catholic churches in their droves. But even then, they have to pay – there is a government fee to make the declaration to renounce the church.
Radio/TV (from 1923)
The UK was the first country to create a licence to fund the radio in 1923, when annual fee of 10 shillings was introduced to cover radio sets under the Wireless Telegraphy Act. This later extended to TV, with the BBC licence fee launching in 1946. It still exists today, and generated $5 billion (£3.8bn) in 2018. Two-thirds of countries in Europe and half of countries in Asia and Africa also use licences to fund public TV, although the US and Canada have never gone down this path.
Sugary drinks (1930s)
Countries worldwide are now beginning to tax sugary drinks such as sodas – the US cities of Berkeley and Philadelphia in 2015 and 2017 and the UK in 2018 – but did you know that the Danes implemented this tax eight decades earlier? However after calculating in 2013 that the tax, at 25c (19p), was bringing in $67.9m (£51.9m) but losing $44m (£33.6m) in value-added tax from illegal soft drinks sales, it was abolished.
Photocopying (1985)
Another quirky tax from France is 3.25% levied on the sale of photocopiers and printers. But in an ethical move, the proceeds of creating printed words go to the National Book Centre and National Library.
Shadows (1993)
Two years ago Conegliano, a town in Italy’s Veneto, began to apply a little-known 1993 nationwide law to claw in €100 ($112/£85) a year from shopkeepers whose signs created shade on public walkways. Another tax also hits Italian store owners whose awnings create shade or who put tables or chairs outside their shop.
Queen bees (1999)
The queen bee levy was Australia's smallest tax, costing just 10 Australian cents (7 US cents/5p) for every queen bee sold for more than AU$20 (US$14/£10.70), and raising only AU$8,000 (US$5,600/£4,300) annually. It was set to zero in 2014 when it was decided it cost too much to administer.
Cow flatulence (2003)
Widely reported, the ‘cow fart tax’ was mostly hot air. The tax on farmers, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by cows’ excessive methane production, was first moo-ted in New Zealand in 2003, then in Denmark. Ultimately, both plans were scrapped.
Read about the millionaires and billionaires who want to pay more tax
Chopsticks (2006)
The Chinese government introduced a 5% tax on disposable wooden chopsticks 13 years ago in a bid to stop its forests being cut down. It produces some 45 billion pairs a year.
Non-smokers (2009)
Smokers the world over have long paid huge taxes to maintain their habit – except in the central Chinese province of Hubei, where non-smokers ended up being penalised instead. With the majority of local taxes coming from cigarette sales, the province set smoking quotas for officials and even teachers, and fined anyone caught smoking cigarettes made elsewhere in the country.
Sliced bagels (2010)
Buy a whole bagel in New York and you won’t pay tax on it. But the minute you heat it, eat it in store, add a topping, or even just get it sliced, it is considered “altered” and an 8% sales tax is added. In fact, even if it is untouched but you eat the bagel in store it will also be taxed. The finer details of the sales tax were applied to bagels in 2010 when tax collectors were eyeing up new ways to collect funds.
And even elephants? (2017)
Taxes on dogs are common worldwide, from Germany to many US states, but in 2017 it was announced that the Punjab government in India would be taxing owners of pets, farm animals and even elephants and camels, at a rate of 250 rupees ($3.60/£2.75) for small animals and 500 rupees ($7.15/£5.50) for large. Luckily for pet owners, the local government was swift to deny the reports.
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